The sprawling nature of rural populations presents distinct challenges to recycling logistics and outreach and education campaigns. This webinar will summarize lessons learned from PSI’s three years of USDA-funded work to maximize the use of voluntary take-back programs in rural parts of 10 states. It will explore how producer responsibility can play out in rural areas, and how post-consumer products can be collected in rural communities as part of a legislated EPR program.

While rural counties have low populations, on a per-capita basis they generate a significant amount of household hazardous waste, very little of which is diverted from the waste stream. However, the sprawling nature of rural communities presents distinct challenges to recycling logistics and outreach and education campaigns. This webinar will summarize lessons learned from PSI’s three years of USDA-funded work to maximize the use of voluntary take-back programs in rural parts of 10 states. Attendees will benefit from a first-person account and advice from a local PSI partner doing on-the-ground outreach, as well as an overview of New Mexico’s touted “hub-and-spoke” recycling program. The webinar will then will explore how producer responsibility can play out in rural areas, and how post-consumer products can be collected in rural communities as part of a legislated EPR program.